Atmospheric Ecosystems? Clouds made by bacteria?

[EdipisReks]

interesting article. i had heard about diseases travelling via dust storms, but the rest was new to me. anyone have an opinion about the viablity of the hypotheses that are mentioned?

 

[sorgoth]

Hmm...that's pretty cool. Evolution works in mysterious ways...

 

[EdipisReks]

BUMP.

 

[fishbob]

All this raises some questions, which Moffett hopes to answer. "We want to discover if it is true that microbes play an active role in forming clouds and making rain," he says. "In other words, whether there is an active, self-sustaining ecosystem up there."

Eeeww - do we really want to know that we have been snerting bugs up our noses all these years? I think not.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

I think microbes in the air get caught up in the water cycle, but to say they are part of the cloud making? I'll go read the article now, the title was kinda lame though.


Still kinda lame. We see condensation build up on its own and we see how water evaporates. When fogs build up, I don't think bacteria or any other microbes have a big role there. Evaporated water gathers in clouds and mists. Microbes are everywhere.


Show me that microbe making some kind of cloud crystal under a microscope.

 

[American]

Although the idea of atmospheric ecology is firmly grounded, there are wilder speculations that spores/virus populate outter space too, presumably throughout the universe.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

yeah, they replicate using dust particles and energy from suns

 

[athon]

Actually the theory isn't all that new, and it isn't as crazy as it first sounds.

Water vapour needs particles to condensate on in order to become clouds. It's often been speculated that fungal and bacterial spores might influence this. They do account for a surprisingly large part of the atmospheric debris that floats about.

I don't know the figures behind the studies that well, but from what few articles I have read the idea has some credit.

Athon

 

[MRC_Hans]

Mmm, I read the article, and I must say that it contains exciting and new information.

Unfortunatly the exciting information is not new, and the new information is not exciting. Yes certain bacteria and fungii spores travel long distances through the air, borne on winds. So do spiders, btw. Yes, particles in air play an important role in cloud formation. Yes, some of these particles are spores (and pollen).

However, particles (no matter their origin) do not causeclouds. Clouds are caused by moist air rising and getting cooled by getting thinner as it rises (because atmospheric pressure falls with altitude). When the temperature falls below the condensation point (which depends on humidity), the water wapor in the air condenses into tiny water droplets, and we have a cloud. This condensation process requires the presence of particles to happne in the normal way, but the particles are ubiquituos, dust, smoke, pollen, spores, bacteria (alive and dead). To actively form clouds, microorganisms would need to be able to move around in great flocks, and even then would be powerless as to the direction of the wind.

Air-borne spreading of some diseases is a well-known phenomenon. Some have long range, others short. Of course special conditions can extend the range of a certain air-borne vector many times, but this is not something an organism can depend on for survuval.

Hans

 

[Prester John]

Whats really interesting (not in this news item but kinda connected)is the idea that the atmosphere of Venus may harbour microbial life. The planets atmosphere has a number of unusual properties that may be chemical, but may be due to microbial life in its upper atmosphere.